Everyone’s starting to use drones for mapping these days and Apple is apparently no exception.

The company plans to use drones and new indoor navigation features to improve its Maps service and catch longtime leader Google, according to sources close to the story.

The Cupertino, California-based company is assembling a team of robotics and data-collection experts that will use drones to capture and update map information faster than its existing fleet of camera-and-sensor ladened minivans, one of the sources said.

Apple seems to want to fly things around to map things like street signs, track changes to roads and monitor if areas are under construction, the source said. The data collected would be sent to Apple teams that rapidly update the Maps app to provide fresh information to users, the person added.

As many customers anxiously await the release of Apple’s wireless AirPods, which were originally slated to launch in October but later delayed, an email from CEO Tim Cook to a customer may provide the most insight as to when to expect the product.

The customer offered the following comment in his email to Cook:

“Give us a release date. I really bought in to the wireless vision you painted. Now I’m stuck waiting with my EarPods but can’t charge my 7 at the same time which I need to do at work. Let us know if it’s a month or 6 months, because then I’ll just buy some other wireless headphones.”

After months of rumors, Netflix has added an offline viewing feature to its application, as seen in the newly released Netflix 9.0.1 app for iOS.

According to Netflix, “many favorite streaming series and movies are already available for download, with more on the way.” Some of the content that’s ready to download includes Orange Is The New Black, Narcos and The Crown.

Users can snag content from a new “Available for Download” category within the app. When the option is available for an episode or movie, tap the download button like in the image below.

A new report from analytical firm KGI has Apple as having its biggest iPhone sales ever come 2017. The new estimates, which cover three anticipated new models, will empower Apple growth with ‘unprecedented’ demand. KGI expects the new phones may sell between 120-150 million units in the second half of next year, eclipsing the previous sales record set by iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

The firm believes that the new form-factor premium OLED iPhone model will encourage high-end customers to upgrades their devices while the low-end 4.7-inch model will feature wireless charging, a glass chassis and attract the lower-end of the market.

KGI reiterates what the firm has said before, in that Apple will debut three new iPhones in 2017: one major redesign (colloquially dubbed ‘iPhone 8’) and two iterative updates to the existing 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.

If your 27-inch iMac hinge has been wonky, Apple is stepping in to cover it in some cases.

A new report has stated that ome 27-inch iMacs shipped between Dec. 2012 and July 2014 may stop adjusting properly and simply tilt forward,. People who paid to get their hinge fixed may have ended up spending $100 or more.

The affected hinges have apparently made cracking or popping sounds upon breaking. That would support a theory that plastic washers in spring mechanisms are suddenly giving way, unable to cope with the weight of the attached computer.

A number of additional MacBook Pro notebooks, MacBook Air notebooks and Mac mini desktops will be added to Apple’s list of vintage and obsolete products starting next month, which means the products will lose official Apple repair support through the company’s retail stores and authorized resellers.

Starting on December 31st, Apple will add the following units to its worldwide obsolescence list:

Macintosh Vintage in the U.S. and Turkey / Obsolete in AP/CN/EU (except Turkey)/JP/LA and Apple Retail Stores:
– MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)

As nifty as the new 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro might be, there might be some video-related bugs to hunt down.

A number of posts have highlighted video-related issues, including flickering screens, have been reported. The issues have also included changes in the shade of colors alongside the considerable screen flicker.

One post offered the following description:

“I’ve had my new MacBook Pro for about a week now, already the screen has started flickering. Today the whole screen became all pixelated and glitchy to the point that I couldn’t see the mouse cursor moving. I reset the MacBook and now it’s still flickering.”